On New Year's Day, 2017, at 3 AM, the artist Jesushands dressed in all black scaled Mount Lee, made his way over a fence and then climbed onto each of the "O" letters of the landmark Hollywood Sign. He then draped those letters with black tarps so they each appeared as a lowercase "e." ^[undefined]

The suspect remains at large, but artist Jesushands has taken credit for the prank.

He faces a misdemeanor trespassing charge when caught.

Park rangers removed the tarps and restored the sign by 11:15 a.m.

In order to pull off the prank, the prankster had to climb over a razor-wired fence, evade 24-hour surveillance, infrared cameras, motion sensors, regular helicopter patrol visits by the authorities, and other high-security measures.

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The famed weed celebrity Tommy Chong tweeted a photo of the Hollyweed sign. ^[1]

The Hollyweed Prank has a history.

On New Year's Day 1976, the same prank was undertaken.

Cal State Northridge art student Danny Finegood and 3 of his college pals used $50 worth of dark fabric to transform the famous Hollywood landmark temporarily. They had practiced it first on a scale model Finegood had crafted. Finegood considered it a statement on the relaxed California marijuana law that went into effect that day, similar to how the 2016 prank presumably celebrates legalization of recreational marijuana use.

Danny turned his prank in as a school assignment which earned him an “A.”

In 1978, The Hollywood Sign Trust was established as a way of protecting the sign and the fragile hillside surrounding it. ^[undefined]

A folk song was written in 1976 about the sign-changing incident, by a man named David Batterson, with the lyrics: "Hollyweed, USA / Now it’s finally safe / To take a little toke."

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